“Craig,” my mom begins, annoyed by the fact that I’m too lazy to get up. “It’s time to get up.” I roll over, letting the dark green glow of my alarm clock illuminate my eyes. I let out a groan of dismay, reading that it is already six o’clock. I stumble out of bed, completing my mourning rituals and leaving promptly at 6:57 a.m. The crisp air bites at bare skin as I step out of my average middle class home which looks suspiciously similar to other houses on the silent suburban street. It’s a short, casual fifteen minute walk before I’m at the doorstep of my old brick high school. In six hours or so I’ll walk home and do my homework.
Almost every single day since ninth grade has followed a similar pattern. I do my work in an average home surrounded by the peace of a suburb. My life outside of school is pretty much middle class perfect; a two car garage, two hard working parents, two younger sisters, a modest, blue house, and a modest neighborhood. This is the environment in which I live. My life at home is very steady and has quiet, comfortable places to study. My home is perfect for studying and working on projects. Also, my family's income is enough so that my house if filled with the resources that are necessary to doing well in school. Yet my success in school is not only based on my environment, but can easily be connected to my family and friends.
My mother, being a reading specialist and an ex-teacher knows all about learning. Combined with her “you can do anything” attitude, she constantly pushed me to do better. She would always want me to make honors. If I were to make honors, than I supposed to make high honors next quarter. Her standard was endlessly and exponentially growing, forcing me to work to keep up. For example, my mother is always bugging me about making sure that my homework is finished. Although that can be annoying at times, I know that she is just pushing me to do my work and get everything done on time. My mother also supports me whenever I need someone to edit my paper or need anything for a project from scissors to posters. My mother is there for me academically, as well as emotionally, both of which are very important to academic success.
My father,on the other hand, was quiet and stern; however his influence on me was equal to my mothers. His logical, mathematical brain picked patterns from the most random sets of numbers, remembering and regurgitating statistics to me. My mother told me that my father and I had conversations about numbers when I was very young. Although they were limited by my knowledge, mathematics was instilled in me when I was very young. This seems to be the roots to my current path of study; mechanical engineering. My father, just like my mother, has been there for me during every academic struggle that I have encountered. For example, in fifth grade when I was struggling adjusting to changing classes and the stress of so much work, my father was doing whatever he could to help me out.
My friends, especially a few in particular, had a completely different influence on me. This influence was spawned out of my competitive spirit. It was a blood-bath in a class like calculus, where a few of my friends and I battled for a spot as top dog. Our mathematical worth was challenged daily as we raced to finish problems the fastest or do the best on big tests. If I had to pick the greatest contributor to my academic success, it would definitely be my drive to do better than my friends, which was quite challenged considering their unyielding drive and flawless intellect.
Throughout my entire academic career, there have been a myriad of factors that have influenced my success. Among those factors are my caring mother, my loving father, my home environment, and my competitive friends. Without these factors or people in my life, I do not think that I would be as successful as I am today. I am thankful that I have been graced with the life that I have and that I have been so successful. My life outside of school has been very important to my academic success. My life outside of school has contributed to as much of my academics as my teachers have; in fact, sometimes I speculate that the majority of my academic success is based upon my life beyond those old brick walls.
Almost every single day since ninth grade has followed a similar pattern. I do my work in an average home surrounded by the peace of a suburb. My life outside of school is pretty much middle class perfect; a two car garage, two hard working parents, two younger sisters, a modest, blue house, and a modest neighborhood. This is the environment in which I live. My life at home is very steady and has quiet, comfortable places to study. My home is perfect for studying and working on projects. Also, my family's income is enough so that my house if filled with the resources that are necessary to doing well in school. Yet my success in school is not only based on my environment, but can easily be connected to my family and friends.
My mother, being a reading specialist and an ex-teacher knows all about learning. Combined with her “you can do anything” attitude, she constantly pushed me to do better. She would always want me to make honors. If I were to make honors, than I supposed to make high honors next quarter. Her standard was endlessly and exponentially growing, forcing me to work to keep up. For example, my mother is always bugging me about making sure that my homework is finished. Although that can be annoying at times, I know that she is just pushing me to do my work and get everything done on time. My mother also supports me whenever I need someone to edit my paper or need anything for a project from scissors to posters. My mother is there for me academically, as well as emotionally, both of which are very important to academic success.
My father,on the other hand, was quiet and stern; however his influence on me was equal to my mothers. His logical, mathematical brain picked patterns from the most random sets of numbers, remembering and regurgitating statistics to me. My mother told me that my father and I had conversations about numbers when I was very young. Although they were limited by my knowledge, mathematics was instilled in me when I was very young. This seems to be the roots to my current path of study; mechanical engineering. My father, just like my mother, has been there for me during every academic struggle that I have encountered. For example, in fifth grade when I was struggling adjusting to changing classes and the stress of so much work, my father was doing whatever he could to help me out.
My friends, especially a few in particular, had a completely different influence on me. This influence was spawned out of my competitive spirit. It was a blood-bath in a class like calculus, where a few of my friends and I battled for a spot as top dog. Our mathematical worth was challenged daily as we raced to finish problems the fastest or do the best on big tests. If I had to pick the greatest contributor to my academic success, it would definitely be my drive to do better than my friends, which was quite challenged considering their unyielding drive and flawless intellect.
Throughout my entire academic career, there have been a myriad of factors that have influenced my success. Among those factors are my caring mother, my loving father, my home environment, and my competitive friends. Without these factors or people in my life, I do not think that I would be as successful as I am today. I am thankful that I have been graced with the life that I have and that I have been so successful. My life outside of school has been very important to my academic success. My life outside of school has contributed to as much of my academics as my teachers have; in fact, sometimes I speculate that the majority of my academic success is based upon my life beyond those old brick walls.